Something on my Mind: Watch Your Mouth or Wash it (2)

So how did the muzzled mouth do this week? Did you make an effort at not swearing or cursing this past week? The thought of it put me on my toes, by the way, and I really don't have a foul mouth.

For years I worked as a letter-carrier. Reflecting upon those days after 30 years, I cannot believe how foul-mouthed and filthy a lot of those guys were. And now every time I turn around, In hear of another segment of the working populace who likewise can claim to have the filthiest mouth in the workplace. It's almost like a badge of honour, seeing who can drop the most f-bombs.

To date, I have never known why people have to swear. Machismo? Fear? Peer pressure? Illiteracy? A combination of all of the above?

Using God's name in a useless, purposeless, and empty way, is not good (repeat: Do not use the Lord's name in "vain"). That is the gist of this Third Commandment. And if we are careless about how we use the Creator's name, then we are very likely careless about the use of all sorts of other rotten language.

Maybe we should curse with some pop star's name instead of God; tell people to go to Havana, instead of hell; and say "fuddle duddle" as a replacement for you-know-what .

I'm being facetious, of course. There is no need for any foul language at any time. And that is more of a confession on my part, rather than a sermon for you.

Work hard this week at cursing Sidney Crosby or your mother, as you try to create some new speaking habits. It might sound good.

I would love to go and explain a variety of passages from the Bible as to how swearing and cursing God is not healthy or wise. And it probably means we a have a warped view of God—and that is not only not good, it's dangerous.

What I just said may come across as arrogant or holier-than-thou, but it's not. As a Bible-believing Christian, it is my responsibility to be, well, responsible. If the Good Book says it, I must believe it. And I am happy (not merely resigned) to believe it. And beyond that, I see the massive benefit of believing it in a practical, upbeat, and healthy way.

And again, as a reminder, this is the gist of this series on the benefit of a society practising the Ten Commandments.

The first four relate to dealing with God. The next column will be the fourth of those first four. Then it gets even more practical, more in-your-face, so to speak—and more beneficial for society and you as an individual.

So, the takeaway from the third commandment is simply to watch your mouth. Personally, I don't want to hear anything about a God you may or may not believe in in a profanity-laced outburst. I don't want to hear of "f-this or f-that," or replaced carefully by "#$*!?" as if I don't know what you're saying.

That means no swearing at your parents (or kids|), employers (or employees), or teachers (or students). And if you're really outraged as you read this, don't swear at me under your breath.

Rather, if you can't keep your mouth clean, just keep your mouth shut. The silence would be refreshing.

And a real benefit to all—including yourself.

Something on my Mind: Watch Your Mouth or Wash It (1)

I have often wondered what would happen to certain people if they stopped swearing. I think the resulting silence would be deafening. And refreshing.

Today's commandment, now the third one, speaks primarily of abusing the Lord's name; but by extension, it really applies to any vulgar language. Simply stated: "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain."

There are two ways we can use the Lord's name: one is bad; the other, good. One is cursing; the other, blessing; and one fills the atmosphere with a cloud; the other, with sunshine.

The key difference, of course, is both intent and content.

On the good side of the ledger, if I wish someone "God speed," that's good. It's also very archaic and we don't hear it too often. Even the "good" in good-bye has its roots in the word "God." And if I speak in such a way that I promise or request a "so help me God," that is bringing God (honesty, justice, and integrity) into the situation. And you all know what many say in response to our sneezing. (And it's more than gesundheit.)

Those are very timely and appropriate uses of the word "God."

Taking the Lord's name in "vain," then, means it has no purpose, it is empty. Men and women (this is an equal rights column) will often spew out God's name with no kind intention whatsoever.

Doing that is purposeless and empty, and so meaningless. And as a wordsmith, wasted words and useless utterances really stretch my patience. And then to add insult to injury, I see it as a personal attack on the God Who made each and everyone of us, this writer included..

The appropriate use of "God" is in worship, adoration, requests, and confiding. There should be no other purpose for using His name. Any other use would be considered taking His name in "vain."

I have always found it strange that a culture that is becoming more and more godless, we're hearing more and more outbursts that involve the use of His name. Have you ever considered that contrast? In other words, we leave Him out of our hearts, homes, schools, and media, but we make sure His name is used as a convenient whipping boy (I say that reverently) when it comes to language. Go figure.

I have often thought of starting movement whereby "God" is replaced by "Hitler" or "Crosby" or "Mom." That's ridiculous , of course, but no more ridiculous than cursing with the name of the God Who created all mankind.

It's a bad habit that has plagued all of us since Day One ("Day One" is the day we started effectively expressing ourselves verbally). And by extension, cursing God leads to other foul language and minced oaths (eg., God becomes "gosh," damn becomes "darn," hell becomes "heck," and so on.)

Again, I am not asking you to agree, but I am asking you to think about it. Agreeing with me would be great; but I'd settle for you at least finishing reading today's column.

A culture without cursing, lewd responses, and all those squiggly symbols (#^@$$) is hard to imagine. Can you envision a book without profanity, a movie without f-bombs, and songs with lyrics that are wholesome?

Apart from the divine perspective, a populace that cannot express itself without using vulgarity is an illiterate society, no two ways about it.

  I don't think it's necessary to give a primer on what constitutes filthy language. There is no need to list what is bad language here. It's more like a verbal diet: Just delete the bad stuff out of your vocabulary, and keep the healthy, helpful words in.

Is it that simple? No, but it is that necessary.

Thus, if I—as a writer, grammarian, Christian, and citizen—make it my goal in life to speak appropriately and accurately, I won't stoop to cursing God every time I stub my toe or get cut off in traffic.

If you find that you have a bad habit of cursing, I challenge you to clean up your mouth (and there'll be no need for soap at this point).

Sounds good to me.

Something on my Mind: Idol No More (2)

We need to follow up from last week's discussion on what it means to not have idols in our lives. My simple point then was that we may be far more guilty of idol worship than we care to admit.

(By the way, this week's and last's heading is not a typo, so do not adjust your "dial". It is an intentional play on words. You may stop snickering now, people, and get down to some serious reading...)

So what (or who) do you worship? What motivates and consumes you these days? Is the object of your worship controlling you, your time, and your thoughts? Be careful: whatever you worship will control you.

And remember, this is not merely a religious experience. It's where is the focus of our affection and passion lies.

Worship, as we saw last week, is that act or obsession with someone or something outside of ourselves. We're all creatures of worship, but too often that affection is directed to many other things instead of the primary "thing" (don't want to sound irreverent, but you get my drift).

They say you are what you worship. (No, Maurice, if you worship money you don't become a loonie, though in your case...). What that means is, if you worship the human body, your mindset becomes very physical and material; if you worship the almighty dollar, your thinking becomes very mercantile, and everything is evaluated in terms of increasing net worth and financial gain.

The same goes for worshipping God: The more you worship Him, the more you become like Him. And that, of course, would make for a better society. (To my Christian readers: I am not advocating a works-based lifestyle. Every significant change must still come in through a new birth).

The second commandment simply says that God doesn't want us—all of us, by the way—to have idols. He doesn't want anything to come in the place of God.

And it can be something material (eg., wood, metal, stone, etc.) or immaterial (eg., greed, money, sex, knowledge, success, etc.). And that means that these things that take up our time and energy may be fine in themselves, just so long as they don't become the primary focus in our life.

How would no idol worship affect our society? Let me count the ways: 1. It would transform our homes. 2. It would transform our neighbourhoods; 3. It would transform our workplaces; and 4. it would transform our governments (at every level).

Homes? Can you possibly imagine what type of homes we would all have if each member has a strong allegiance and affection towards God? Well, it would take a lot of imagination, to be sure, as we certainly don't see much of that these days—and that includes me and mine.

What would putting God first before anything else practically look like?

Again, honouring God has some personal, daily ramifications in the home: improved relationships, better money management, genuine thoughtfulness for other family members, not wasting time on excessive drinking and carousing, and so on. That would make for great family life!

Neighbourhoods? For starters, neighbourhoods are made up of the homes I just referred to, so what was going right in one home would be multiplied in many others. If everything was based on having a heart fully engaged in loving God, think of the squabbles, petty crime, noise level, and a host of other factors that would disappear. Neighbourhoods would be safe and fun again.

Workplaces? A God-first thinking that permeated every corner of the work environment would radicalize every sector in this nation. No more politics, no more cue-jumping, no more abuses—I can't imagine what it would be like.

There would be better morale, increased productivity, and greater stability. Obviously, that would good.

Government? The governments are our duly elected officials; their sense of duty and care towards its citizens must be paramount, but seldom is. Its two spheres include the parliament or chambers, and the marketplace of its citizenry. Can you envision transformed health, education, and agriculture portfolios, in which the Ten Commandments were observed?

Again, can you possibly imagine being led by a cluster of individuals who had no hidden agenda, no politics (in the true sense), no bullying tactics—just because they themselves now answer to a higher authority?

A society transformed by not stooping to idols, but rather, rising to God, would be a great society.

Something on my Mind: No Idols, Please

Imagine a world in which our Creator-God is acknowledged, honoured and obeyed. The biblical stance is that God is the one and only God, not one among many; and He personally is the one who is honoured, not some replica or facsimile of Him.

And with that thought, I introduce the second of the Ten Commandments, namely, God's decree against idols and idol worship.

This is a bitter pill to swallow for those who are polytheists (= many gods) or atheists (= no god). , Then we have the New Agers, who embrace the theory that there is a god within each of us, that we are our own gods. Beyond that, there are the environmentalists, who embrace the notion that god and nature are one or at least inter-connected (and related to pantheism,)

One would be remiss to not mention the cults who twist the truth about God to their own liking. Last, but certainly not least, there are many who simply say, "Who gives a rip?"

Well, actually I do, as do millions of others. And because I do, I am motivated to develop this short series on a society based on the Ten Commandments. If you feel there's no merit in taking it seriously, please at least finish this column.

In my terminology, I will identify the Christian God as simply the "God of the Bible"; that's in part because the Bible is where we get to meet Him, know him, and follow him.

I write this series and live my life as a "monotheist," (mono = one; theos = God). I assume that some readers may find this arrogant, though I hope not. It would be be misleading on my part to write from any other angle, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

So, premise Number One is that there is a divine Being to Whom we are connected and accountable, one way or the other. Grasping that reality would definitely change our culture for the better. Premise Number Two is the simple fact is that He will not compete with other gods, goals, or greed.

This is a pretty rationale approach; it's not as outrageous as it sounds. For example, no wife wants to compete for her husband's affection, And I'm not just thinking of his interest in another woman, either. It could be that cool car in the garage, his demanding workload, his love of sports, or other hobbies, or any other idols.

We've established that the God of the Bible (there's that expression again) is real, personal, holy, and true. Whether you agree with that is not the point: it's the premise of this series. Not only is "He there and is not silent" (Francis Schaeffer), but He will not have anything or anyone compete with Him.

That viewpoint in the hands of a dictator is deadly; however, in the hands of our Creator-God it is most re-assuring.

Did you know that we all worship something, even somethings? That's because worship is not an inherently religious practice; rather, it's an inherently human practice. Worship is the act of adoration of or on something other than ourselves, though it could include ourselves. In extreme cases, it could be considered a fetish.

And just to clarify: an idol is much, much more than something comprised of wood, stone, or metal.

When I am consumed by entertainment, sports, music, physique, greed, or whatever, that is a form of worship. Idol worship, then, is something that fills our time, minds, and energy--other than God.

And this is the very affection that should be directed primarily to God, Who demands and deserves it.

Imagine a society where every citizen was less consumed with hearts, minds, words, money, and energy over such fleeting commodities such as bank accounts, houses, toys, status quo, sex appeal, education, and a myriad of other distractions, and channelled all that affection towards the God that made them.

Would that transform society for its good? Absolutely!